The Make Runaways Safe campaign was launched last week with a report stating that more than 100,000 children run away from home or care every year, placing them in ‘grave danger’ and at risk of physical abuse and sexual exploitation.

The new campaign is aimed at raising awareness of the dangers facing children who run away from home.

Forster helped shape the campaign identity and will continue to work on the PR and lobbying drive in the coming weeks. The agency has also been taken on to create a dedicated campaign microsite, which is planned to go live in August.

Children’s Society Campaign for Childhood director Elaine Hindal said: ‘Children as young as eight are running away from home or care and massive numbers of children remain hidden from view and are not reported to the authorities.

‘We’ve worked with Forster to help us create a campaign to raise awareness about the issues affecting young runaways and for a national safety net to be put in place for every child who runs away.’

Forster board director Athena Lamnisos said: ‘We hope that Make Runways Safe will succeed in drawing the public support it deserves and result in the changes to local and national policy that the Children’s Society is aiming for.’

The report reveals that children’s disappearances go unreported in two-thirds of cases.

According to the report, the average age of young runaways involved in Children’s Society projects has dropped from 13 or 14 to between 11 and 12.